Lupita Nyong’o Has Written a Children’s Book About Embracing One’s Natural Beauty

The book, Sulwe, follows the story of a little girl named Sulwe, which means "star," a 5-year-old from Kenya who wishes she had lighter skin.

The book, Sulwe, follows the story of a little girl named Sulwe, which means “star,” a 5-year-old from Kenya who wishes she had lighter skin.

It will be released next year.

As the darkest-skinned member of her family, Sulwe feels that she is not pretty enough, until her mother steps in to help her see herself in a new light, according to The New York Times, which broke the story.

Lupita Nyong’o

Nyong’o took to Instagram to talk up the project, writing, “I am pleased to reveal that I have written a children’s book! … Sulwe is a dark skinned girl who goes on a starry-eyed adventure, and awakens with a reimagined sense of beauty. She encounters lessons that we learn as children and spend our lives unlearning. This is a story for little ones, but no matter the age I hope it serves as an inspiration for everyone to walk with joy in their own skin.”

The book will be released in January 2019 by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers.

“I embrace my natural heritage”

This isn’t the first time Nyong’o has taken a stand for natural beauty. She has often spoken out about loving herself and her skin and took the Evening Standardto task when they photoshopped her natural hair on their cover.

“As I have made clear so often in the past with every fiber of my being, I embrace my natural heritage and despite having grown up thinking light skin and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty, I now know that my dark skin and kinky, coily hair are beautiful too,” she wrote on Instagram in response to the changed image.

“Being featured on the cover of a magazine fulfills me as it is an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are.”